Swedish ASIC miner company kncminer.com

[tolip_wen]

I dont think replacing those artic cooler fans is going to do anything for preventing those caps or VRMs from burning out. Maybe adding or reorienting case fans may help if those components are overheating (are they?)

HUGE DISCLAIMER  I'm going by pictures posted not my own eyeballs looking at the PCB's personally!

I am just guessing at a possibility, let me repeat, I am just guessing at a possibility.
(^^ this will not prevent a tangent but I tried ^^)

The latest pics show the explosion seems like it happened on a secton of bare PCB right next to a chipcap.
The component looks intact.

How could this happen?

A FEW of the possibilities are:
Loose metal on PCB.
Poor PCB etching. (why would it wait to explode if so?)

Metal contamination could also account for performance issues and failure seen by others.
The explosions might only be happening at locations where there is high current.
The performance issues might be happening in low current locations.

Where could the metal come from?

A problem with the solder paste or application process.
A solder reflow problem. (cold solder joints)
Metal dirt on case leftover from manufacture.
Metal dirt on heatsinks leftover from manufacture.
Self tapping case screws or standoffs might create metal shavings.
A serious mechanical problem with a machine that makes the PCB's.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE OPEN THE CASE JUST TO LOOK
But if someone has a unit and already has the case open:
They could use very bright light and a magnifying glass to look.
Move the light to view with different light angles and shadows.
Look at the heatsink and edges of the case for metal shavings.

Up until I saw the last pics I was thinking faulty component issue or a programming quirk overloading good components. Now I'm not so sure. A spark away from components is usually caused by foreign objects.

Did I mention that I am just guessing?
I think I did mention that I am just guessing at a possibility at least once.

[Xialla]

I notice your main board did not include the extra slots for expansion.

yeah, true.) dunno why, otherwise, there is no space in the box, so I don't care..

[sickpig]

Two things I noticed:

1. The miner does not support multiple pools by default, so you have to manually edit the /config/cgminer.conf and add 2-3 extra pools, I also added a line:
"failover-only" : true,

is this changes persistent across fw upgrade/reboot?

2. The miner does not have cron service installed, they rely on a service "monitordcdc" to frequently check the current for 8 VRMs on each board, if the current is too low they will restart the cgminer process. I'm not sure of the effectiveness of this approach, but my miner has been restarted by this service this morning

many thanks this is very valuable info.
from https://www.kncminer.com/news/news-30

"The DC/DC modules we have on our boards are the largest and best quality available from GE Critical Power. Each capable of 40 amps making the max available 320 amps per ASIC"

[Sitarow]

Two things I noticed:

1. The miner does not support multiple pools by default, so you have to manually edit the /config/cgminer.conf and add 2-3 extra pools, I also added a line:
"failover-only" : true,

2. The miner does not have cron service installed, they rely on a service "monitordcdc" to frequently check the current for 8 VRMs on each board, if the current is too low they will restart the cgminer process. I'm not sure of the effectiveness of this approach, but my miner has been restarted by this service this morning

johnyj can you provide simple steps on how we can add "failover-only" pools to our cgminer.conf

that would be a great help for those who are not familiar with linux.

[dwdoc]

I just spoke to KnC on the phone. They said that one of my Jupiters marked as "shipped" since Friday means that it is ready at the factory but has to be sent to the office for pick-up. I was wondering about the status since I got no tracking # or email from them.

[Fiyasko]

Damn you people and your Gorgeous KNC products! Im so envious!
Where's the Entry level miner for us little guys!

[Vedran Yoweri]

Damn you people and your Gorgeous KNC products! Im so envious!
Where's the Entry level miner for us little guys!

Soon the prices will drop like a stone for all asics, as will the earnings.
For a small piece of the current pie there's always ADDICTION https://bitfunder.com/asset/ADDICTION.

[Henchman24]

Regarding the offer of a free month of hosting and 4btc per Jupiter, I can only imagine how another company might have handled this.   

"What are you talking about?!?  We aren't late!!  That was only an estimated date!!  It's not OUR fault you believed us!!  We don't owe you shit!  You need to learn how the real world works!!one!1

 
      

[btcusr]

KNC units catching fire?!?!

http://forum.kncminer.com/forum/main-category/hardware/5267-unit-s-catching-fire

[fragout]

just got my Saturn in the door 30 min ago. no apparent damage. fans were where they are supposed to be.
started it up and only one board was working. fan was also stopped. I switched the connection cable to another slot and reconnected all the other cables and it seems to be working now.
cant change the pool details from the interface. everytime I press apply, it just reverts back to the original.
using firmware 0.91 for the moment until the fire treat disappears

[sickpig]

just got my Saturn in the door 30 min ago. no apparent damage. fans were where they are supposed to be.
started it up and only one board was working. fan was also stopped. I switched the connection cable to another slot and reconnected all the other cables and it seems to be working now.
cant change the pool details from the interface. everytime I press apply, it just reverts back to the original.
using firmware 0.91 for the moment until the fire treat disappears

hash rate?

[DPoS]

I consider last week highly unprofessional, and told them so. You can't state in your ToS that it is a b2b model and then deliver more than a week late. And I think a kind of compensaton is in order. Not only in form of a few bitcoins or cashback, that would be pretty much pointless. I want a voucher for 50% off on the next gen devices/november units for every unit which should have been here by Thursday/Friday last week.

actually,  I will see your unrealistic gripe and raise an insanely mad request and demand that KNC give all of us DAY 1 customers our own ASIC mining company for our troubles

it is the only compensation that seems fair at this point

 

[fragout]

just got my Saturn in the door 30 min ago. no apparent damage. fans were where they are supposed to be.
started it up and only one board was working. fan was also stopped. I switched the connection cable to another slot and reconnected all the other cables and it seems to be working now.
cant change the pool details from the interface. everytime I press apply, it just reverts back to the original.
using firmware 0.91 for the moment until the fire treat disappears

hash rate?

251 from the pool. not on long enough yet though to get a true average

[flowdab]

So I'm worried about my KNC Jupiter that is arriving today blowing up while I'm not there. Has there been any consensus on how best to limit the risk? Which firmware version is best?

Cheers!

[samo]

cant access the site atm, any new news for us hosters?, were floating in the wind here day 1, 2xx order, cmon knc  @bitcoinorama any updates bro?

[Its About Sharing]

I'm not sure if you are taking my words personal or not. I just disagree with you (but enjoy your posts and from memory do think you were always on their side). That said, perhaps I didn't know the full story. Are you saying a September 1st or 2nd delivery? If so then I take back what I said. I thought they said shipment before October, technically even the last day of September would be valid, though not nice.

I still think the 30% or so higher hashrate is pretty huge. (We have to do the math though). But, as I mentioned above, it depends on the due date. Perhaps clarify that before I give my final verdict.  

I'm not sure about the B2B part. I do follow you regarding European companies being held to a higher standard (I'm in Germany and still am shocked by the protections consumers get here. But, much deserved usually.)

At this point, I can't see buying more rigs unless there really is some chance at profitability or breaking even. It is sure a fun hobby and that is as far as I think I may take it. Have to finish and see how my GB's turn out. But thus far, very clearly, it would have been better to just buy the BTC's and it isn't even close. I think the mining market might adjust somewhat due to this, but there are other factors involved, such as preferring to mine over buy and sometimes buying isn't even a possibility...

Thx,
IAS

Yes, I have an order for 2nd day and another one in October which should have been shipped in the first week of October too, according to them. I don't take anything personal here except insults.  
B2B is in general not as tightly protected as B2C but usually you can expect to get your stuff on time, contrary to C2C or B2C, since shipment is one of the most important aspects of B2B transactions.
And simply because that is the case you will find a clause containing some sort of financial incentive to deliver/build/program something on time in most B2B agreements.
I just find it extremely unprofessional to delay shipping that long, whatever the cause, without stating that when called and not offering some kind of incentive to stay as a paying business customer.
In regards to that I do not consider BFL a company at all, since more than a year would constitute breach of contract and/or fraud in Germany...

Thanks for sharing the B2B, B2C, etc. stuff. Makes sense.

I see from your sig (and knowledge of Germany) that you are here too! (Good English) ehehe

It is going to be interesting to see where the mining business model develops to (in light of all the problems). I think we can be sure that the risk has to be lowered.
I wonder if Cloudhashing (or some variance of that) will be in the cards???
I also wonder what is going to come from the BFL and Avalon scandal (yes, I call it that and am sure most agree with me). The KNC thing much less so.

Living in Germany but not being German gives me a different perspective. I understand Germans have the highest standards when it comes to regulations, rules, standards and things of that sort.
So, I am further excited to see what happens with bitcoin.de's partnership with Fedor bank (and if they will ever allow Americans like me to partake!)

IAS

[WastedLTC]

cant access the site atm, any new news for us hosters?, were floating in the wind here day 1, 2xx order, cmon knc  @bitcoinorama any updates bro?

sounds like we need to wait it out.  estimating today or tomorrow for the units to get online.  =/  .  Offering up 4BTC per Jupiter is fine with me.  I would like the unit it hashing today and not tomorrow (obviously).   Since they have done a poor job with communication, I'm curious on how they will handle firmware updates to the hosted units... 

[helmax]

anyone can tell me a GOOD and CHEAP power supply

please

please

[Xialla]

why you want to use cheap PSU with device, which cost thousands of dollars and any failure of PSU cost more, then PSU itself?

[ImI]

So I'm worried about my KNC Jupiter that is arriving today blowing up while I'm not there. Has there been any consensus on how best to limit the risk? Which firmware version is best?

Cheers!

asaik the consensus is at the moment:

a.) dont use fw 0.90 as it may be damaging the boards
b.) dont use fw 0.92 as both fires occured while using 0.92

in terms of lid open or closed the jury is still out